Adult learners get on board with railway celebrations
Adult learners are getting on board with the region’s Stockton & Darlington Railway bicentenary celebrations, giving their time to support visitors at an historic exhibition.
The learners, who all live in Darlington and are studying with Learning & Skills, took part in a short training course, held in partnership with S&DR200 – the festival to mark the 200th anniversary of the first passenger railway.
The volunteers gained the knowledge and skills to help visitors to the Railway Pioneers - Celebrating the Railway Rockstars of the Past exhibition at Hopetown, Darlington. They also took part in sessions on confidence, professionalism and listening skills to support them in their volunteering role.
Dedicating two hours a week, they are making an important contribution to the popular exhibition which has seen Locomotion No ! return to Darlington and has already attracted thousands of visitors.
Niccy Hallifax, S&DR200 director said: "We are delighted to welcome the new volunteers who are making a real difference to the experience of people visiting the exhibition. They are incredibly well informed and are a positive addition to our team. S&DR200 is all about celebrating the past but also looking to the future and helping to boost the skills of local people is part of that.”
Heather Jarvis Jewell, at Learning & Skills said "Adult learning is about more than gaining qualifications and opportunities like this are a fantastic way to get people involved with their local community, practice the skills they are learning in the classroom and increase their confidence. A number of our learners, many of whom speak English as a second language, are now volunteering at the exhibition and have said it has been a great introduction to our new accredited volunteering qualification which we will be launching shortly."
Railway Pioneers - Celebrating the Railway Rockstars of the Past runs until June 22. Tiets are free and can be booked at www.hopetowndarlington.co.uk/railwaypioneers